Strength of WOMEN

I personally feel that woman is BESTest and GREATest and Most Beautiful creation of God !!

Creator

It is noteworthy that in the Vedic literature although a woman’s prime role is portrayed as a wife only, yet several other aspects of feminine form are also suggested by various names are used to denote a woman. It is quite interesting to derive the exact meaning of these words because it may help in giving a better idea of different roles of woman in home and in society. For instance, a woman as wife is denoted by three words; jaya, jani and patni. Of these, jaya is the woman who gives birth to one’s progeny, jani is the mother of children and patni is the co-partner in the religious duties.

Similarly women are designated as:

Aditi

because she is not dependent

Aghnya

for she is not to be hurt

Brhati

for she is large hearted

Chandra

because she is happy

Devakama

since she is pious.

Devi

since she is divine

Dhruva

for she is firm

Havya

because she is worthy of invocation

Ida

for she is worship-able

Jyota

because she is illuminating : bright

Kamya

because she is lovable

Kshama

for she is tolerant, indulgent, patient

Mahi

since she is great

Mena

because she deserves respect

Nari

for she is not inimical to anyone

Purandhih

for she is munificent, liberal

Ranta

because she is lovely

Sanjaya

since she is victorious

Sarasvati

since she is scholarly

Simhi

since she is courageous

Shiva

for she is benevolent

Shivatama

since she is the noblest

Stri

since she is modest

Subhaga

because she is fortunate

Subhdha

for she is knowledgeable

Sumangali

since she is auspicious

Susheva

for she is pleasant

Suvarcha

since she is splendid

Suyama

since she is self – disciplined.

Syona

for she is noble

Virini

since she is mother of brave sons

Vishruta

since she is learned

Yashasvati

for she is glorious

Yosha

because she is intermingled with man, she is not separate

Oh Women…………Greatest creation of God

In India, women have been respected since ancient times. In Hindu mythology, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are famous as Trimurtis (‘The Trinity’). Of them, Brahma’s wife is Saraswati, Vishnu’s wife is Lakshmi and Shiva’s wife is Parvati. Saraswati is the goddess of education, Parvati is the goddess of might and Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth. Man needs all three – education, might and wealth. Women of the Vedic period (circa 1500-1200 BCE), were epitomes of intellectual and spiritual attainments. The Vedas have volumes to say about these women, who both complemented and supplemented their male partners. Scholars believe that in ancient India, the women enjoyed equal status with men in all fields of life. Works by ancient Indian grammarians such as Patanjali and Katyayana suggest that women were educated in the early Vedic period. Rigvedic verses suggest that the women married at a mature age and were free to select their husband. Scriptures such as Rig Veda and Upanishads mention several women sages and seers, notably Gargi and Maitreyi. The Rig Veda contains hymns that are accredited to Maitreyi, the woman seer and philosopher. She contributed towards the enhancement of her sage-husband Yajnavalkya’s personality and the flowering of his spiritual thoughts. The Rig Veda also has long conversations between the sage Agasthya and his wife Lopamudra that testifies to the great intelligence and goodness of the latter. Gargi, the Vedic prophetess and daughter of sage Vachaknu, composed several hymns that questioned the origin of all existence. When King Janak of Videha organized a ‘brahmayajna’, a philosophic congress centered around the fire sacrament, Gargi was one of the eminent participants. She challenged the sage Yajnavalkya with a volley of perturbing questions on the soul or ‘atman’ that not only confounded the learned man who had till then silenced many an eminent scholar, but also bamboozled other great Vedic men of letters. The Vedas and the epics have upheld the equality of men and women. In ancient India the culture was based on Vedas and called Vedic culture. In those times women were not only revered and respected but also very protected and the motto was: A woman should be protected by her father in the childhood, husband in the youth and sons in the old age.

In the medieval period also many women excelled in the fields of politics, literature, education and religion. Razia Sultana became the only woman monarch to have ever ruled Delhi. The Gond queen Durgavati ruled for fifteen years, before she lost her life in a battle with Mughal emperor Akbar’s general Asaf Khan in 1564. Chand Bibi defended Ahmednagar against the mighty Mughal forces of Akbar in 1590s. Jehangir’s wife Nur Jehan effectively wielded imperial power and was recognized as the real force behind the Mughal throne. The Mughal princesses Jahanara and Zebunnissa were well-known poets, and also influenced the ruling administration Shivaji’s mother, Jijabai was deputed as queen regent, because of her ability as a warrior and an administrator. In South India, many women administered villages, towns, divisions and heralded social and religious institutions. Mirabai, a female saint-poet, was one of the most important Bhakti movement figures. Some other female saint-poets from this period include Akka Mahadevi, Rami Janabai and Lal Ded. Kittur Chennamma, the queen of the princely state Kittur in Karnataka, led an armed rebellion against the British in response to the Doctrine of lapse. Abbakka Rani the queen of coastal Karnataka led the defence against invading European armies notably the Portugese in 16th century. Rani Lakshmi Bai, the Queen of Jhansi, led the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the British. She is now widely considered as a nationalist hero. Begum Hazrat Mahal, the co-ruler of Awadh, was another ruler who led the revolt of 1857. She refused the deals with the British and later retreated to Nepal. The Begums of Bhopal were also few of the notable female rulers during this period. They did not observe purdah and were trained in martial arts.

Modern Women In INDIA

India has world’s largest number of professionally qualified women.

India has largest population of working women in the world.

India has more number of women doctors, surgeons, scientists, professors than the United States

Women Achiever
With the help of these social reformers women of India slowly started recognizing her true potential. She started questioning the rules laid down for her by the society. As a result, started breaking barriers and earned a respectable position in the world. Today Indian women have excelled in each and every field from social work to visiting space station. There is no arena, which remained unconquered by Indian women. Whether it is politics, sports, entertainment, literature, technology, everywhere and many more, we can hear applauses for her.

Politics
Women of India are highly active today in this area. Sarojini Naidu, Vijaylakshami Pandit, Sucheta Kriplani were the torchbearer for the women of India. Mrs.Vijay Lkshami Pandit was the first Indian woman to hold a post in the cabinet. Thus paving the way for other women. The most important name in the category of women politicians of recent times is Mrs Indira Gandhi. She was the one who made world stop and notice the talent and potential of Indian women. She was the first women Prime Minister of independent India.
Other women who have made their name in politics of India are Shiela Dixit, Uma Bharti, Jayalalitha, Vasundhra Raje and Mamata Banerjee,Sushma Swaraj and countless number of.

Sports
Indian women have achieved great laurels for the nation in every sport. Whether it is cricket or hockey India have national women team for every game. Indian women cricket team has won Asia Cup of 2004 and 2005 and made country proud. Some women sports icons of India are:

P.T. Usha (Athletics)

Kunjarani Devi (Weight lifting)

Diana Edulji (Cricket)

Sania Mirza (Tennis)

Karnam Malleshwari (Weight lifting)

Saina Nehwal ( Badminton)

Art and Entertainment
This arena is full of Indian women. We have many names to boast of like M.S. Subbulakshmi, Indian Nightingale Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle as famous singers. Madhu Bala, Rekha, Aishwarya Rai, Madhuri Dixit, Kajol as Bollywood queens. Today Indian woman is a painter, an actor, a singer, and a beauty queen.

Literature
In past women of India used to write, but their work did not get the recognition. Today they are getting their dues. Arundhati Roy, Anita Desai, Kiran Desai, Shobhaa De, Jhumpa Lahiri are famous names in Indian literature. Not just in India now these women are recognized all over the world. Arundhati Roy has been awarded with the Booker Prize of 1997 for her work “God of Small Things”. Kiran Desai has been given Booker Prize of 2006 and Jhumpa Lahiri got recognition in the form of Pulitzer prize.

Corporate Divas
Kiran Majumdar Shaw is the undisputed corporate queen of India. She is the richest Indian woman. She is the MD of Biocon India. She is the wealthiest entrepreneur of India Kiran wanted to become a doctor but could not get admission in medical colleges but even then she did not lose courage and went on to become India’s first woman ‘Brew Master’ and subsequently corporate queen. Another names in this list include Vidya Mohan Chhabaria, Chairperson of Jumbo Group, Naina Lal Kidwai, Vice Chairperson and Managing Director of HSBC Securities and Capital Market, Sullaijja Firodia Motwani and Mallika Srinivasan.

Universal Queens
Indian women have not just made their mark on earth but they have engraved their name in the whole universe by flying to space. Kalpana Chawla, who was the member of Colombia Space Shuttle, which exploded on its way back, was the first Indian women astronaut who visited space station. And now following on her footsteps another women of Indian origin Sunita Williams has become the second one to be the member of International Space Station crew.

Indian women have mastered anything and everything which a woman can dream of. But she still has to go a long way to achieve equal status in the minds of Indian men. The desire of Indian women can be best summed up in the following lines.I have only one request.
I do not ask for shelter
Although I have need of it,

Thanx for your comment.
i have something to say.
In india you will not see inequality.
Women are immensely respected and honored.
I think when you say”inequality still persists in India to an unacceptable degree.” you mean women do not get equal opportunities. that is prone to argument and if so is the case; that is changing.

Amazing story again. I suppose as most other agricultural products, the production of honey would depend largely on the locational conditions such as weather, land, and flowering plants. This might be a crucial issue for some developing regions in building the honey industrial clusters.